Oil removing device for cleaning pipes that are present in the form of coils

ABSTRACT

An oil removing device for cleaning pipes that are present in the form of coils in a furnace that accommodates and heats the pipes, with or without associated cooling zone, has a gas guiding device for feeding a scavenging gas to or removing it from the pipes. The gas guiding device is provided with connections for detachably and sealingly linking with a gas feed line and a gas discharge line. Ends of every pipe are separately connected to one and the same connecting head that has a gas inlet and a gas outlet opening the axially aligned therewith. The end of the gas feed line and the end of the gas discharge line are opposite each other and can be displaced along with the gas inlet opening and/or the gas outlet opening while sealingly connected.

BACKGROUND

The present invention relates to an oil removal device for cleaningpipes provided in the form of coils, having a furnace which receives andheats the pipes, with or without an assigned cooling zone, and a gasguiding device for introducing and removing scavenging gas into thepipes and/or out of the pipes, the gas guiding device having means fordetachable, tight connection to a gas supply line on one side and a gasremoval line on the other side.

An oil removal device is known from European Patent Application 0659907B 1. In the device described there, the coil is heated in a furnacechamber and a gas is introduced and removed via a gas supply line toclean the inside of a pipe. In this case, the connection to the ends ofthe pipe to be cleaned is produced via two couplings, which are eachattached to a pull and push rod and are moved toward the correspondingcounterparts independently from one another and at diametricallyopposing sides of the furnace chamber. This connection device isconnected to the pull and push rod via a universal joint, so that agas-tight connection may be achieved even if the support stand of thecoil is positioned slightly twisted in the furnace chamber and theconnection ends of the connection device are not parallel to oneanother.

A great disadvantage of the device described results from the gas supplyand gas removal connections, which are positioned separately from oneanother and are independent of one another. The tightness of theseconnections is determined by the contact pressure of the connectiondevice. In the event of high contact pressure, there is therefore thedanger that the support stand will be displaced or deformed by themechanical forces introduced via the connection device, so that leaksmay arise.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The problem of the present invention is to provide an oil removal devicewhich allows simple and gas-tight connection of coils to a gas supplydevice.

This problem is solved according to the present invention for a deviceof the type initially described in that both ends of each pipe areseparately connected to one and the same connection head, which has agas inlet opening and a gas outlet opening aligned axially thereto, andthe ends of the gas supply line and the gas removal line are movableopposite to one another and simultaneously have a sealed connection withthe gas inlet opening and gas outlet opening.

Because the inlet opening is positioned opposite and axially aligned tothe outlet opening and both openings are positioned lying near oneanother in one and the same connection head, the gas removal line isused as a holder for receiving mechanical pressure of the gas supplyline, so that the gas removal line and the gas supply line clamp theconnection head between them, so that slipping of the coil or the standdue to the mechanical forces of the gas supply and gas removal lines istherefore excluded.

The device according to the present invention may also be implemented sothat the connection head is rigidly fixed or integrated in the standwhich is used to receive coils lying on top of one another. Therefore,this connection head is positioned relative to a furnace chamber bypositioning the stand and the stand is fixed in its relative position tothe furnace chamber when the connection to the gas supply and gasremoval lines is produced. Furthermore, a stand of this type may befurnished with multiple coils outside the furnace chamber and maysubsequently be moved into the furnace chamber for treatment.

Furthermore, the device according to the present invention may beimplemented so that the two ends of the coils are separately connectedfor gas supply and gas removal via pipelines connected to the stand, sothat therefore a fixed connection between the connection head and a gasdistribution system is provided.

Furthermore, the device according to the present invention may beimplemented so that the two pipe ends of each coil are each connectedvia a flexible coupling to the pipeline which supplies and removes thegas. Therefore, the connection of a coil to the gas supply line and gasremoval line is significantly simplified, since geometric tolerances ofthe external shape of the coil may be compensated for through theflexible couplings.

Furthermore, the device according to the present invention may beimplemented so that at least the sections of the gas supply line and thegas removal line neighboring the connection head are mounted so they aremovable aligned in a straight line until they press against the gasinlet opening and/or the gas outlet opening, and back. Therefore, theconnection parts of the gas supply and gas removal lines adjoining theconnection head must only perform a simple straight line movement inorder to connect to the connection head.

Furthermore, the device according to the present invention may beimplemented so that at least the sections of the gas supply line and gasremoval line neighboring the connection head are movable along a curvedpath until they press against the gas inlet opening and/or the gasoutlet opening, and back. The connection parts of the gas supply lineand gas removal line adjoining the connection head must then only bemoved along the curved path in order to produce a gas-tight connectionto the connection head.

Furthermore, the device according to the present invention may beimplemented so that the gas supply line and the gas removal line arepneumatically or hydraulically driven in their movement. The contactpressure of the connection parts on the connection head necessary for agas-tight connection may thus be applied through the drive of theconnection parts of the gas supply line and gas removal line.

Furthermore, the device according to the present invention may beimplemented so that the sections of the gas supply line and the gasremoval line neighboring the connection head are mounted pivotably toadjust for any tolerances as the gas line and connection head meet. Inthis way, the seal to the connection head in the furnace chamber may bemade even more reliable.

Furthermore, the device according to the present invention may beimplemented so that the sections of the gas supply line and the gasremoval line neighboring the connection head are implemented as axiallyflexible. In this way, the tolerances arising in the axial directionduring positioning of the connection head in the furnace chamber arecompensated without the stand being displaced through the incidentpressure.

Finally, the device according to the present invention may beimplemented so that the pipeline for the gas to be removed has multiplechannels which are separate from one another, which each communicatewith the outlet of a pipe of a specific coil. Vice versa, the pipelinefor the gas to be supplied may also have multiple channels which areseparate from one another, which each communicate with an inlet of apipe of a specific coil. This allows measurement and regulation of thegas flow through a specific coil.

In the following, an embodiment of the device according to the presentinvention is described on the basis of the drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 shows a vertical section through a stand for receiving multiplecoils having a connection head integrated into the stand,

FIG. 2 shows a horizontal section through the stand having an integratedconnection head, and

FIG. 3 shows a section through the furnace wall, the gas supply line andgas removal line, and the stand having an integrated connection head.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Referring to FIGS. 1-3, a stand 1 (FIG. 1) has attachments 2 positionedon top of one another, which each have a space 3 for receiving coils. Aconnection head 4 having a gas inlet opening 5 and an opposing gasoutlet opening 6 is integrated into the stand 1. Ends 7 and 8 of the gassupply line 15 and gas removal line 16 connected to the connection head4 are shown with dashes. The gas inlet opening 5 and gas outlet opening6 are aligned axially and opposite to the openings 5, 6 of theconnection head 4. It may be clearly seen that the openings of theconnection parts 7, 8 of the gas supply line 15 and gas removal line 16and the inlet and outlet openings 5, 6 of the connection head 4 arealigned on one axis, so that the connection parts 7, 8 are to be movedalong the axis in order to produce a connection to the connection head4. FIG. 2 shows a lower part of the stand 1, in which the connectionhead 4 is integrated in such a way that it comprises a connection part11 provided for gas supply and a connection part 12 provided for gasremoval. These connection parts 11 and 12 are fixed to the stand 1 andreceive pipelines 9, also fixed to the stand 1, on the other side.Flexible couplings 10, which conduct the gas into a coil 13 (indicatedwith dashes), are connected to these pipelines 9. Furthermore, it may beseen that the openings of the connection parts 11, 12 and the openingsof the connection parts 7, 8 of the gas supply line 15 and gas removalline 16 are aligned along one axis.

FIG. 3 shows a section through the furnace wall 14, through the gassupply line 15 and gas removal line 16 having the connection parts 7 and8 attached thereto, and through the connection head 4 having theassociated connection parts 11 and 12. The flow of the gas begins herewith the supply 17 into the gas supply line 15. Subsequently, the gas isconducted through the connection parts 7 and 11 into the pipelines 9.From there, it is introduced into and removed from the coils andsubsequently guided via the pipeline 9 and the connection part 12 intothe gas removal line 16 until it is removed through the removal 18. Asin FIGS. 1 and 2, it is clear here that the openings of the connectionparts 7, 8 of the gas supply line 15 and gas removal line 16 are alignedwith the openings of the connection parts 11, 12 of the connection head4 along a shared axis, so that the gas supply line 15 and the gasremoval line 16 are to be moved along this axis in order to achieve agas-tight connection via the connection parts 7, 8, 11, and 12. Theaxial flexibility of the gas supply line 15 and gas removal line 16necessary to compensate for tolerances, as well as the pivotablemounting of the connection parts 7, 8, are indicated by elements 19.

1. An oil removal device for cleaning pipes provided in the form ofcoils, having a furnace, which receives and heats the pipes, and a gasguiding device to introduce and remove scavenging gas into the pipes andfrom the pipes, the gas guiding device having means for detachable,tight connection to a gas supply line on one side and a gas removal lineon an opposite side, the gas guiding device including a connection headhaving a gas inlet opening on the one side and a gas outlet opening onthe opposite side axial aligned with the gas inlet opening, and an endof the gas supply line connected to the gas inlet opening and an end ofthe gas removal line connected to the gas outlet opening wherein theends of the gas supply line and the gas removal line are directedopposite to one another and simultaneously movable with respect to thegas inlet opening and the gas outlet opening, and two pipe ends of eachof the pipes are separately connected to one and the same connectionhead.
 2. The device according to claim 1, wherein the connection head isintegrated into a stand, movable relative to the furnace, for holdingmultiple coils positioned on top of one another.
 3. The device accordingto claim 2, wherein the two pipe ends of each pipe are connectedseparately to the connection head for gas supply and gas removal viapipelines connected to the stand.
 4. The device according to claim 3,wherein the two pipe ends of each pipe are each connected via a flexiblecoupling to the pipelines.
 5. The device according to any one of claims1 to 4, wherein at least the ends of the gas supply line and the gasremoval line neighboring the connection head are mounted so they may bemoved aligned in a straight line until they press against the gas inletopening and the gas outlet opening.
 6. The device according to any oneof claims 1 to 4, wherein at least the ends of the gas supply line andthe gas removal line neighboring the connection head are movable along acurved path until they press against the gas inlet opening and the gasoutlet opening (6).
 7. The device according to any one of claims 1 to 4,wherein the ends of the gas supply line and the gas removal lineneighboring the connection head are mounted pivotably to adjust for anytolerance as the gas supply line and the connection head meet.
 8. Thedevice according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the ends of thegas supply line and the gas removal line neighboring the connection headare implemented as axially flexible.
 9. The device according to any oneof claims 2 to 4, wherein the pipeline for the gas to be removed hasmultiple channels, which are separate from one another, which eachcommunicate with a outlet of a pipe of a specific coil.
 10. The deviceaccording to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the ends of the gassupply line and the gas removal line neighboring the connection head areone of hydraulically and pneumatically movable to connect with theconnection head.